eTeknix » Networking

Arctic Living Audio Relay Wireless Media Extender Review

Nick Lord — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:10:56 +0000

The modern home environment is awash with audio visual systems which independently shape the way we lead our lives. With over two million UK residents installing Wi-Fi in their homes in the last 18 months, ARCTIC has seen a gap in the market for a bespoke wireless multi room system.

The new Audio Relay, wireless media extender allows users to listen to music anywhere in in their home, utilising smart phone technology to control your personal jukebox. The system allows intuitive control over preselected music libraries which are stored on your home PC or DLNA server.

Independent multi room systems can come with a hefty price tag and integrated hard wired installations are still in the realms of the serious AV enthusiast.

ARCTIC have stripped back the confusion and refined the installation process to create a plug and play device that utilises your home Wi-Fi network to send media from your computer playlist to a chosen output location within your home. What makes this product even more exciting is the dedicated control application that will allow media browsing and song selection.

Looking at the product off the shelf, the packaging is simple and clean with a large graphic of the receiver on the top of the box.

The key features are identified in smart phone style graphics along the front flap of the box. This gives an initial suggestion of the devices compatibility and functionality. There is also a reference to the downloadable App controller and the URL for ARTCIS’s home site.

On the rear of the packaging there is a schematic diagram for the device setup accompanied by a product description and package contents breakdown. Additionally there is a photograph of the product which identifies the physical connections including analogue output, optical output, USB and Ethernet RJ45 input.

When you open the box you find the components neatly packed leaving little room to spare. The device is wrapped in a cushioned pouch for added protection, with the connection leads and USB power plug separated by a cardboard division.

Once unpacked it is hard to miss the high gloss black finish on the product. The device is a made from a thermosetting plastic that has been manufactured to a high quality finish. The relay is ergonomic in its design with the only features being the on/off button and the Arctic logo.

It is clear from initial inspection that ARCTIC has tried to make the device user friendly to simplify its installation and subsequent operation.

The shape of the unit has also been thought about with its discreet size and light weight at only 0.4 kg allowing multiple installation locations with minimal visual impact.

When installing the device for the first time, the quick start guide provides the option for both Ethernet and Wi-Fi installation. This allows you to install the device in the way that best suits your applications.

Following the simple setup guide I was able to connect within minutes to the Audio Relay and the device was shown on my computers network display in the explorer window. Once the device was recognised on the network it was simple to access connection settings by simply right clicking on the icon and clicking “view device webpage”. This opened a web user interface that allowed me to check for firmware updates, configure a connection mode and view Wi-Fi settings.

On closing the user interface streaming could begin straight away. To do this was as easy as the installation process, I simply had to open my media player and right click on the media I wanted to stream and select play to Arctic wireless speaker. This opened a second media player window ready to output my selected track.

The Audio Relay uses an IP address to stream the music to the correct device, this is like a unique reference number to ensure that the data is sent to the right place and is assigned automatically by your computer during the installation process.

The ARCTIC remote application for this product was released into the Android market in October last year, soon followed by the App store in early December. The device uses Wi-Fi standard 802.11b/g and is compatible with Windows Vista and above.

In addition to this a minimum system RAM of 1Gb is required and a standard 10/100Mbps Ethernet connection. The standard audio formats that are supported include MP3, AAC, WAV and WMA. This makes the device compatible with both downloaded media and ripped music from windows media applications.

The power is supplied through a USB power plug connector into the rear of the device. Running at 5 volts the relay only draws 600mA’s and is therefore relatively economical compared to various other receivers on the market. With the lower power that the system draws, its performance has not been compromised in the slightest, with impressive signal strength and clarity when tested on a standard wireless home router.

ARCTIC has been working hard to design a product that can hold its own in the multi room entertainment market. One feature that I feel really sets this device out above the others is the concurrent music playback which allows multiple users to play music in different rooms at the same time.

Using one central library, the media can be streamed through your router to the networked devices, allowing a true multi room experience. With the price of most multi room systems running into the high hundreds ARCTIC have entered the market with a competitively priced product. Retailing at $132.60 USD or €102 EUR from ARCTIC directly, this product could be seen as a cost effective solution for multi room applications when expensive hard wired alternatives are not an option.

It is most defiantly a serious contender in this market with plenty of room for expansion through its versatile use of home Wi-Fi networks. We look forward to seeing what ARCTIC are going to come up with next as home entertainment networks become more accessible to us all.

ScanFX Mini HD Media Box Review

Andy Ruffell — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:35:20 +0000

In this day and age, the majority of consumers own a HD TV or other, similar HD device, even if it be a computer monitor, it’s all about HD. HD has taken the world by storm and due to this, more companies than ever before have tried to create HD media players or streamers, but sadly many have failed.

The areas that they failed in generally involve the UI being slow and laggy and even the connectivity lacking and file type abilities not the greatest. This is the case for cheap and even the more expensive units on the market, even from some of the big players that you wouldn’t expect to fail.

We could be looking at a £40 unit, or a £400 unit, a fault will always be found in one area or another, so the question is; which one do you go for?

Scan, a popular computer retailer in the UK believe they have the master of all HD media players that is simple, does what it says on the tin and more importantly, is cheap.

For the price (£26.14), you get a lot bundled with the player, including a remote control, AV cable consisting of 3.5mm to RCA + R/L audio leads, a YUV cable incorporating a 3.5mm to RCA RGB and the player and power adapter to get you up and running.

Though the unit does support HDMI, no cable is supplied, but can be picked up for pennies from most good retailers.

The top of the unit features some simple plastic buttons for controlling the media player without the remote. Though most people are too lazy to leave the sofa, this is always a nice addition than having a blank space of nothingness.

Connectivity wise, we find a single USB port for attaching a flash drive or external hard drive, an LED, IR sensor for the remote and a SD/MMC card reader giving you plenty of options.

The only thing missing in our eyes is some form of ethernet, but for the price you can’t complain.

On the other side of the unit we find the power switch and power port, a HDMI output and the 3.5mm ports for the YUV and AV cables that come pre-supplied.

The UI is a vital aspect of any media player and in our opinion, should be fluid and fast and that’s exactly what we get on offer here.

The main screen is quite stylish and it seems that a lot of work has gone into the design to make it simple, yet effective with five large icons for different areas of the UI.

One of those areas includes the settings where various options can be changed, which is quite surprising for a unit of this site and simplicity.

When you launch into the movie or music sections, you are greeted with a simple to use file browser type system which allows you to access your USB device or memory card to load your chosen media and then sit back and enjoy in full 1080p HD.

For a simple device, there’s not a lot that we can really say, apart from WOW. I’ve used a bunch of media players over the years and none have been as small and simple for starters, but the most important aspect that i have to comment on, is that none have had a nicer to use menu system.

The UI on this media player is simple, stylish and to the point. There are no sub-menus within menus that can take 10 minutes to navigate through, it simply gives you a “what you see is what you get” style system and that keeps the cost down.

Speaking of cost, at an astonishingly low £26.14, the ScanFX Mini HD Media Box has to be one of, if not the cheapest media player on the market today and with the connectivity options for a plethora of devices, you won’t be stuck for choice when decided what to watch or listen to.

In our honest opinion, we believe that one of these should be in every house in the UK, as it’s discrete, plays all HD formats and in 1080p we might add and costs less than a night out, we honestly have to ask; what more could you want?

Asus WL-330N3G 6 in 1 Wireless-N Mobile Router Review

Simon Telford — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:43:40 +0000

While routers have never been essential, most people will have at least one in their house, especially with the rapid increase of wireless devices such as laptops, phones, tablets and lots more. Routers allow you to connect to several computers wirelessly or even via ethernet connections, allowing you to create a network with more than one computer. Lots of companies like Virgin Media and other ISPs provide routers with their broadband packages and as such some are installed and never seen again. While this is the simplest solution there are lots of improvements that can be made to a network, for instance, improving wireless coverage, which is where a second router or wireless bridge comes in handy.

ASUS have a very high reputation within the computing industry, especially with regards to motherboards. They do also produce netbooks, displays and various other computer peripherals, and they have been dabbling in networks for a while but without much notable success. We hope that they have with this device put their expertise to good use and have produced a good networking product, as we certainly know that they are capable of this.

The router we are looking at today combines 6 key features, including Access Point, Network Adapter, Wireless Router, Wireless Repeater and a Wi-Fi and 3G device that can share connections between several devices. This is certainly a lot of features, but we have often found this means it is less likely to work, or at least well.

The router is also classed as a Mobile Router, one of the first ever, with a footprint that is smaller than a credit card which should make it very easy to carry as it is pocket sized. They claim it is a full wireless router designed for those on the move, especially businessmen, commuters, students and mobile professionals.

Synology USB Station 2 Review

Michael Peck — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:05:00 +0000

It’s all too easy to find that your storage has got out of control with adding additional capacity never being cheaper. It’s at this point that you might consider looking at a NAS (Network Attached Storage) solution to allow your data to become more accessible and organised. Synology was founded in 2000 and are dedicated to developing high-performance, reliable, versatile, and environmentally-friendly Network Attached Storage (NAS) products.

Today we take a look at the Synology USB Station 2 which is the baby of the Synology NAS range. This small device might not feature RAID or data redundancy as it offers no internal capacity for hard drive storage but instead as the name suggests allows external USB hard drives to be used. It does however feature Gigabit connectivity and support for upto 2x 3TB hard drives, It also opens up many options that you can use your attached USB devices for including the ability to use it as media server for your music or a print server to allow your printer to be shared across all your networked PCs.

Specifications

Hardware

CPU Frequency : 800MHz
Hardware Encrypted Engine
Memory : DDR2 128MB
External HDD Interface : USB 2.0 Port X 2
Max External Capacity : 2X 3TB external USB hard drives
Size (HxWxD) : 46 X 122 X 111 mm
Weight : 147g
LAN : Gigabit X1
System Fan : 70x70x25mm x1
Wireless Support
Noise Level : 21.0 dB(A)
Power Recovery
AC Input Power Voltage : 100V to 240V AC
Power Frequency : 50 / 60Hz, Single Phase
Power Consumption : 5W
Operating Temperature : 5°C to 35°C (40°F to 95°F)
Storage Temperature : -10°C to 70°C (15°F to 155°F)
Relative Humidity : 5% to 95% RH
Maximum Operating Altitude : 10,000 feet
Certification : FCC Class B, CE Class B, BSMI Class B
Warranty : 2 Years

Applications

File Browser
File Station
FTP Server

Bandwidth Control, Custom FTP Passive Port Range, Anonymous FTP, Transfer Log
Supported Video Format : 3G2, 3GP, ASF, AVI, DAT, DivX, FLV, M4V, MOV, MP4, MPEG, MPG, QT, WMV, XviD, RM, RMVB, VOB, RV30, RV40, AC3, AMR, WMA3
User can click and download the following video formats: RM, RMVB, VOB, RV30, RV40, AC3, AMR, WMA3, but not able to play it in Photo Station as compressed Flash video

Audio Station

Supported Audio Format (USB Mode) : AAC, FLAC, M4A, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, WMA VBR
Supported Audio Format (Streaming Mode) : MP3, M4A, M4B
Supported Playlist Format : M3U, WPL
Internet Radio : SHOUTcast, Radioio

DLNA/UPnP Media Server

PS3/Xbox 360 Support
Supported Audio Format : AAC, FLAC, M4A, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, PCM, WAV, WMA, WMA VBR, WMA PRO, WMA
Supported Video Format : 3GP, 3G2, ASF, AVI, DAT, DivX, DVR-MS, ISO, M2T, M2TS, M4V, MKV, MP4, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, MTS, MOV, QT, SWF, TP, TRP, TS, VOB, WMV, XviD
Supported Image Format : BMP, JPG (jpe, jpeg), GIF, ICO, PNG, PSD, TIF (tiff), UFO
Supported Subtitles Format : srt, psb, smi, ass, ssa, sub, idx, ifo

Download Station

Supported Download Protocols : BT/HTTP/FTP/NZB/eMule
Custom BitTorrent Port Range
BitTorrent / eMule Bandwidth Control

iTunes Server

Supported Audio Format : MP3, M4A, M4P, WAV, AIF
Supported Video Format : M4V, MOV, MP4
Supported Playlist Format : M3U, WPL

Print Server

Max Printer # : 2
Printing Protocols : LPR, CIFS, AppleTalk, AirPrint, Multi Functional Print Server (Only PostScript USB printers are supported in MAC environment)

iPhone/Android Applications

DS audio
DS file
DS finder (Only available on iPhone)

General

Networking Protocols

CIFS
AFP
FTP
WebDAV
Telnet
SSH

File System

EXT4
EXT3
FAT (External Disk Only)
NTFS (External Disk Only)

File Sharing Capability

Max User Accounts : 32
Max Concurrent Connections : 32

Backup Solutions

Desktop Backup (using Synology Data Replicator 3 or Apple Time Machine backup application)
Time Machine Backup (Mac)

Security

FTP over SSL/TLS
IP Auto-Block
HTTPS Connection

Management

Email Notification
DDNS Support
IPv6 Support
PPPoE
Custom Management UI HTTP/HTTPS Ports

Utilities

Synology Assistant
Synology Data Replicator

Supported Clients

Windows 2000 onward
Mac OSX 10.3 onward
Ubuntu 9.04 onward

Supported Browsers

Chrome
Internet Explorer : 7, 8, 9
Firefox : 3.5, 3.6
Safari (MAC) : 4, 5

Supported Mobile Devices (Photo Station, File Station)

iPhone OS 2.2.1 onward
Android OS 1.5 onward
Windows Mobile (IE Mobile or Opera 9.0 onward)
Symbian OS 9.1, S60 3rd Edition onward
Language : Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese Brazil, Portuguese European, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Turkish